


looks like you have no choice.

by lonelyheartsclub_com



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, autistic!rangi, it's the adhd that i projected onto her., kirima suffers from 'the urge to flirt with most girls she comes across', lek MIGHT die, streaks dhmu this is like the most i've ever written goddamn, wong's just chilling, you'll find that kyoshi's usually fiddling with smth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:22:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26932819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonelyheartsclub_com/pseuds/lonelyheartsclub_com
Summary: when the fire nation shows up on the doorstep of kyoshi's town, she has no choice but to go to war. the catch is, she has to pretend to be a boy -  or else the fire nation will kill her. but she becomes attached to a certain soldier. they realise that the people the fire nation are 'fighting' are helpless and try to put a stop to it - at the cost of their lives.
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 82





	1. the fire nation's gambit.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm back on my rangshi bullshit with a rangshi mulan au!!!!! anyways enjoy

Kyoshi’s blood ran ice cold. There were Fire Nation soldiers in her town, and Kyoshi knew they only showed up when they wanted to terrorise people.

Or sometimes, they wanted something.

This was one of those times.

“Listen up! There’s going to be a war.” a Fire Nation soldier started. Her eyes locked on Kyoshi’s and she shuddered. The soldier was hauntingly pretty. The chatter around Kyoshi increased. “Pipe down! We’re not going to say who we’re fighting or why, but you’re legally under Fire Nation control. So you’re going to fight with us.”

There was an uproar, and someone threw something at the soldier on the stage.

It was a tomato. She caught it and burned it, causing the crowd to fall silent.

“Kyoshi? What’s happening?” Kirima appeared behind her, whispering lightly whilst on her tiptoes.

She shrugged.

“The Fire Nation wants to fight in some war.”

Before Kirima could reply, there was a shout.

“You!” Kyoshi turned to face the front. Somehow, she knew the soldier would be pointing at her.

“How dare you speak whilst I am?” The crowd had gone deathly silent and Kyoshi was stuttering, trying to come up with an excuse.

“Spit it out! I haven’t got all day.” the soldier bellowed harshly.

Kyoshi paused for a moment. “You know what? I’m sick and tired of you and your dumb soldiers harassing this village. Spirits, does it look like any of us can fight? We’re ordinary people, for Yangchen’s sake!”

The soldier walked down from the stage, and started towards Kyoshi. She backed away. “If it wasn’t for the fact that there was a crowd here, I would have struck you down.” she whispered, her voice softer than a rasp.

“As I was saying,” she continued, walking back onto the stage. “If you’re a male under the age of 60 and over the age of 18, you’re legally required to fight. A fellow soldier of mine will be around to draft people. If you are to refuse, you shall be punished with death. Is that understood?” Kyoshi paused.

Her father… She held back tears as the crowd dispersed, feeling sick.

Why couldn’t women from other nations fight? She didn’t want to fight, but if it was to protect her father, she would do anything.

Jesa was sitting just beside the door when Kyoshi got home.

“Heard about the drafting,” she said sullenly. Kyoshi continued walking. “I also heard about you standing up to that Fire Nation soldier.” She stopped.

“Kyoshi, _jaanu,_ what was going through your head? Fire Nation soldiers are legally allowed to kill you for disobedience. What if…?”

“Ma, please don’t start. I’m begging you. I stood up to the soldier and she ignored-”

There was a knock on the door.

“Open up!” Jesa closed her eyes and Kyoshi could see the tear that fell down her cheek.

She desperately wanted to comfort her mother.

Kyoshi opened the door. It was the soldier she had stood up to earlier.

Shit. Shit shit shit shi-

“Well, well well. What a pleasant surprise. Who are you putting forward?”

Kyoshi swallowed. She knew that lying to Fire Nation officials was punishable by death.

“My brother’ll be home at midnight. We can put him forward then.” she nodded.

“‘Til next time, little miss stutter.” she smirked as she slammed the door.

Jesa waited a moment. “Are you insane?” she shouted. Kyoshi inhaled, ready to explain, but Jesa put her hand up. “Lying to Fire Nation soldiers-” she started.

“- is punishable by death. Yes, ma, I know.”

“Well, then! What are we going to do now, huh, Kyoshi? Because last time I checked, I don’t have a son!”

Kyoshi inhaled. “I’ll go. Dad’s on the verge of death and if he goes, he’ll die. I know what Fire Nation soldiers have to undergo to become soldiers. Their training is ruthless.”

“No. No, I refuse-”

“Ma! What other choice do we have? Because someone has to be turned over to that soldier at midnight! And it’s sure as hell not going to be my father!”

Kyoshi stormed out, Jesa trailing after her. “Wait, Kyoshi.” she said. It had started raining and Kyoshi was standing in the downpour. Jesa handed her something. It was a sword.

“If…” she inhaled and exhaled, tears falling down her cheeks. “If you’re really going to go fight in the Fire Nation’s little war, you should have that. Your great-grandmother and Yangchen were extremely close friends. Perhaps even closer than friends. But Yangchen gave her this, and ever since then it’s been passed down in our family line. I’ve been waiting for the right time to give it to you. But this seems like a good time.” Oh, mother. Kyoshi felt extremely bad for her. She took the sword and read the Sanskrit inscription in the pearl blade. _"Stay strong in the face of adversity."_ it read.

“You should take my war paint as well. You know where it is. I’m so proud of you.”

“You act as if I’m going to be executed. As if I’m not coming back.” Jesa shrugged.

“Fighting a war under Fire Nation direction is practically the same thing, mera pyaar.” her voice was softer than a whisper.

“I’ll be back before you can even say my name, ma. I promise.” she embraced her mother and walked inside, looking for the war paint.

Kyoshi’s fingers hovered just above it, having a flashback.

Kyoshi was only 7.

_“Kyoshi, priya, calm down! It’s just war paint!”_

_“Mama, can you tell me about your war days?” Jesa shook her head, laughing softly._

_“No, mere dil ka pyaar. They’re far behind me.” She tipped her daughter’s head up and kissed her on the forehead, some of the makeup coming off on her lips._

_“Silly mummy! Now the paint is all over you!” Jesa laughed and tickled her daughter, both of them falling on the floor. After Jesa got up, she found her crown and placed it on Kyoshi’s head._

_“Look at yourself, priya. Don’t you look beautiful?” she asked, giving her daughter a mirror._

_“_ _I do! I want to look like you when I grow up, mama.”_

_“_ _Really, sweetheart?” She nodded. “_

_Well, I think you’re beautiful and will be no matter what.”_

Kyoshi had embraced her mother tightly after that, the paint rubbing off on Jesa's sari.

That had been 11 years ago. She grabbed the war paint and walked out, walking past her mother.

As soon as the door shut, she burst into tears. Fuck the Fire Nation. Fuck everything and everyone.

As the storm raged around Kyoshi, she headed towards the bridge. When she was there, she looked around. It was so tranquil. This was probably the last time she’d see her village for a few years. If not 2 or 3, maybe more.

She checked her watch.

11:20.

She had 40 minutes.

She already bound her chest due to back pains, so that was out of the way. Next: her hair.

Kyoshi’s hair was rather long and dark. It went down to the small of her back. She gathered it in a bunch and took the sword her mother gave her, and sliced it off. It was down to her shoulders now. She took a spare ribbon she had pocketed and used it to tie her hair back in a passable topknot.

She was wearing her normal green and grey kimono. She examined herself. She looked male, if that was any consolation.

11:30.

She had 30 minutes.

Her hands. The bandages were worn and Kyoshi knew she had to change them. She sat down and pulled out two different sized bandages. One was slightly thinner and it was meant for fingers. She silently thanked Yangchen that she had been born ambidextrous. After she had finished wrapping her hands up, she put her gloves on. She moved her hands about, trying to see if the handy work was okay. Usually it was Kirima who bandaged up her hands.

Alright, she supposed.

“Kyoshi!” It was Kirima. “Jesa said that you were giving yourself over to the Fire Nation. Are you fucking insane?”

Kyoshi shushed her rather loudly.

“The soldier that I stood up to earlier is gonna be here soon! If you’re here she’ll know I’m a girl.”

“Kyoshi...what hot mess have you gotten yourself into this time?” Kyoshi scoffed.

“Don’t even try that with me, Kyoshi.”

Kyoshi quickly explained, keeping an eye on her watch. 15 minutes ticked by.

“Leave, Rima. I’ll see you again. I promise. But I have to do this.” Kirima’s eyes welled up with tears for the first time in Kyoshi’s life.

“Fuck you, idiot. You best stay alive. If not for yourself, for me and your parents. Please.” pulling Kyoshi in for a tight hug.

“Whatever.” Kyoshi smiled as Kirima walked away.

5 minutes. So, in those last five minutes, Kyoshi cried her tears. She didn’t care if it made her weak. She had promised Jesa and Kirima that she’d live but Agni knows if she really would. Chances are she wouldn’t.

“You’re Kyoshi’s brother, aren’t you?”

Kyoshi turned her head so fast she thought she’d snap her neck. “How do you know my sister’s name?” she asked, quickly making sure that her voice sounded deeper.

The soldier shrugged. “I have my sources.” she broke out into a friendly smile. She was much prettier when she smiled, Kyoshi thought. Her smile made Kyoshi feel warm, like she was back at her home with her mother and father and Kirima, laughing over some dumb joke. But she wasn’t. “But that’s not important right now. I’m Lieutenant Rangi Sei’naka. And you are?”

“Chiaro. It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Lieutenant Sei’naka.”

“Call me Rangi.” Kyoshi nodded awkwardly and smiled.

Rangi started walking and Kyoshi followed her.

“So, who are we fighting?” She shrugged.

“I don’t quite know myself. Fire Lord Zoryu requested that I train our army extra hard and a few weeks later requested me at court to say that we’re going to be fighting a dangerous army. So then he told me to go around the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe and ask people to join our army.”

“Why not Air Nomads?”

“Because the Fire Lord doesn’t like their whole pacifist thing. No one in the Fire Nation likes it. I don’t mind it. I think we need more people with good morals.”

“Why can’t women from other nations fight?”

Rangi frowned. “You ask a lot of questions, you know that?”

Kyoshi glared at Rangi and she sighed.

“Because the Fire Lord thinks that women from other nations are weak.”

Kyoshi felt a white-hot poker of anger go through her.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because my sister is pretty desperate for an adventure and would’ve loved to go to battle.”

Rangi’s lips quirked up and soon she started laughing. “No offense meant, but your sister wouldn’t last 2 seconds in battle. She’s too hotheaded and would probably disobey our teachings.”

“How do you know that much about my sister? Haven’t you only ever met her once?”

“You may be right, but I like to analyse people. From her outburst this morning, I can tell she doesn’t like to conform to certain things. She would probably loathe the Fire Nation’s teachings.”

Kyoshi bit back a rather rude reply. This prissy Fire Nation girl thought she had her all figured out. What a load of bullshit.

What angered Kyoshi most was the fact that Rangi was right.

“My sister would want to punch you if she heard that.”

Rangi laughed. “Lucky she’s not here right now, eh?”

Kyoshi desperately wanted to punch Rangi. “Hm.” she replied quietly.

Kyoshi could see the sun rising on the horizon by the time they had reached camp.

“Get some sleep. We’ll be up at the crack of dawn to head to the Northern Water Tribe.”

Kyoshi couldn’t help but smile at Rangi. The moment the Fire Nation Lieutenant left, Kyoshi felt the weight of everything on her. She took deep inhales and exhales and suddenly, her chest bindings felt far too tight. She was gasping for air in moments and she could feel her heart starting to slow. She sobbed. For her mother. For her father.

And because she desperately wanted to slit her wrists.

***

Rangi hadn’t over-exaggerated. They were up at 4AM and not a moment later.

Kyoshi wasn’t fluent in Japanese, but she could understand scraps of it. She could certainly understand the shouts of, “Get the fuck up, you useless pieces of shit!” and other profanitic statements that made Kyoshi want to flip them off.

She snuck away from the crowd in an attempt to find a lake to bathe in, because if she bathed with the men, her secret would be out. Obviously.

She had grabbed her bag too, and was tiptoeing around the place. She could see a lake up ahead, and she silently thanked Yangchen. Again.

She dropped her stuff on the floor before stripping.

She found this extremely awkward and felt rather self-conscious.

But she couldn’t really be asked to keep her mind on that when she walked into the water. It was cool, but not exactly cold. She had planned to keep her bindings on, and she thanked the spirits she had that plan when she heard someone’s voice.

“What are you doing?” Kyoshi audibly gasped and sunk deeper into the water.

“Rangi! I was just...bathing?”

She frowned. 

“That’s pretty obvious. I mean, why are you doing it here? You do realise that there’s a bathing station for men, right?” Kyoshi nodded, kneeling lower so that the water came up to her mid-chest.

“Uh, I did realise that, yes. I just didn’t want to bathe there.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “You look a lot like your sister right now.” she narrowed her eyes.

“She and I are, uh, twins. Yeah, we’re identical twins.”

Kyoshi wanted to drown herself because of the web of lies she was slowly encasing herself in.

“Right…” Rangi seemed quite confused. “Make sure the general doesn’t catch you here. He’ll have your head on a platter.” she smirked that same smirk she had when she slammed Kyoshi’s front door in her face.

“Um…” Kyoshi was trying to get her to leave.

“Don’t worry. I’m not looking. I have no interest in men. But you did take my usual bathing spot.”

Kyoshi blushed. “I’ll be out in a second. But I’m pretty sure you should look away.”

Rangi smiled. “Don’t need to tell me twice.” and she turned to face the other way.

“Could you, uh, pass me my towel?” She kicked Kyoshi’s bag towards her and Kyoshi paused.

She’d have to wrap the towel around her waist instead of under her arms. She wrapped it just under her chest bindings.

“Is there a reason you have so many bandages on?” Rangi asked.

Kyoshi stuttered. “I trip and fall a lot. I have cuts all over my chest.”

“Maybe you’ll be less clumsy by the end of the war, eh?” Kyoshi turned to face Rangi, looking her in the eyes and leaning against a particularly large rock. Something flashed in Rangi’s eyes and Kyoshi’s thoughts immediately went south.

What if she knew?

“Who knows? Maybe.”


	2. who can be asked to function at this hour of the day?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kyoshi quickly realises that this is no walk in the park, and with almost everything reminding her of yokoya, she's screwed. oh, and not to mention she finds that she has a minor to major crush on rangi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slight tw for this chapter // rape and depressive thoughts

Kyoshi was worn out. She couldn’t handle being up this early. They were currently on boats heading to the Northern Water Tribe.

As Rangi delivered her speech to the chief, Kyoshi couldn’t watch. She could see the same air of fear swirling around them that Yokoya had. 

When Rangi came out of the tent and Kyoshi followed her, she tried appealing to Rangi’s empathic side. 

“Maybe go easy on them, Rangi? This is hard for them to process, after all.”

Funny thing is, Rangi didn’t  _ have _ an empathetic side to appeal to.

“When did I ask for your opinion?” she snapped. She was back to Lieutenant Rangi, Kyoshi supposed. 

She sighed irritably. 

“Is that everyone we can draft, then?” Kyoshi asked, pointing at the small huddle of male soldiers. Rangi put her hands behind her back and drew herself up, probably trying to scope out everyone they had recruited. 

“I believe so, yes.” Kyoshi felt a quick shock of shame go through her when she realised she and Rangi’s friendship of sorts was already back at square one. “Don’t worry. The drafting will be over soon and we can get to training.”

  
  


Training, in question, was torture. 

“How’re you doing down there?” Rangi asked smugly as the recruits, including Kyoshi, had to do 40 minutes of horse stance. 

“Last time I checked, I’m 6’6 and you’re 5’2. I should be the one asking you that!” Kyoshi hissed. Rangi just laughed and Kyoshi suddenly recalled a very rude word in Japanese that she shot behind Rangi’s back. 

“Say that again and I’ll shoot lightning right at that pretty face of yours, right between your eyes.”

Kyoshi blushed. Rangi thought she was pretty. A pretty girl thought she was pretty. 

She shook the feeling off. Rangi wouldn’t have any interest in her, at least not while she was undercover as a man. 

“15 more minutes!” Rangi shouted. 

There was a mutual groan among everyone. This stance was for short people, Kyoshi thought. 

Next they had to be taught archery. Kyoshi was slightly more confident here than before because Jesa taught her archery. 

_ “Jaanu, you have to envision hitting your target. The skill of archery doesn’t just come from shooting the arrows everywhere.” Jesa laughed.  _

Kyoshi blinked and focused on the target, trying to forget about her mother. 

“Your stance is absolutely fucked, good  _ Lord _ .” Rangi remarked.

“Don’t do that!” Kyoshi shouted at the shorter girl. “Do you get a kick out of scaring people or something?”

The Fire Nation Lieutenant shrugged. “It can be fun.”

Kyoshi turned back to the task at hand. “That was a rhetorical question, smartass.”

Rangi got on her tiptoes and corrected Kyoshi’s stance. “The skill of archery comes from patience. You don’t just get better by shooting the arrows where you wish. You have to envision the arrow getting right in the centre.” Kyoshi had another flashback. 

_ “Okay, priya, try again.” she had said encouragingly. 10 year old Kyoshi had shot the arrow right at the centre and Jesa had made her kheer to celebrate.  _

_ She’d bragged to Kirima the next day about being able to do archery and Kirima had huffed at her jealously. This was before Hark had fallen ill and Kyoshi and he had been to her favourite park and Hark had sung her praises. _

_ All because of one arrow.  _

Kyoshi could feel Rangi’s hot breath on her neck and immediately became aware of how close they were. She had never felt this way towards a girl before. She’d seen it happen before. Yangchen, who was one of her biggest role models, was only into women and her wife had even been related to Kyoshi. Her mother had spent hours talking to Kyoshi about her escapades with women and how all the Air Nomads were shocked she ended up with a man in the end. Kirima was out with a new girl every week as well. So she’d seen it happen before. She just didn’t know why it was happening to her.

“Are you listening to me? Hello?” Rangi snapped her long fingers in front of Kyoshi’s face and Kyoshi noticed how short her nails were. They were like Kirima’s. Kyoshi had never understood why women that liked other women had such short nails but she had asked Kirima to explain it to her.

_ “No way, Kyoshi! I’m never telling you. Jesa would murder me for corrupting you.” Kirima had laughed off the question but Kyoshi still wanted to know the answer. _

_ “I hate you, Kirima.” _

“Um, yes?” Kyoshi had said in response to Rangi’s question.

“There’s no point in lying to me, you know. I see through lies exceptionally well and there’s barely anything that gets past me.” she whispered, leaning in close and looking right into Kyoshi’s eyes. 

She knew. She had to.

“I’ll be sure not to lie to you, then.” Kyoshi whispered back, 

“I think both you and I know that’s not true.” Rangi smirked as she walked away, barking orders at a poor, trembling Water Tribe man. 

Kyoshi’s blood chilled, like when she first met Rangi.

She had to know.

***

Rangi hated being the Lieutenant. But she was 19. They would expect her to be Lieutenant for a couple more years. She was buckling under the pressure. She was getting less sleep. She and the General, who was a piece of shit, were working twice as hard to train at least thrice as many people as they were used to.

Rangi feared the General. Not for the reasons you’d think. But she didn’t really wish to rehash her and the General’s past.

But anyways, Rangi couldn’t afford to slip.

She just couldn’t.

Her honor was on the line. Everything was on the line. 

_ “I’ll see you again, Rangi-chan. Stay alive for me.” _ Every single damn time she held a dagger to her wrist, her mother’s words echoed in her head and it was like something compelled her to put it down. 

“Rangi?” she was in her tent and she would’ve rather been left alone. Well, she would’ve rather been with anyone but him.

“Yes?” she responded shakily.

It was the General. 

She swallowed the bile that came up in her throat. 

“You’re not still scared of me, are you?” he asked jokingly. Rangi wanted to sucker punch him. 

“You can’t just...force yourself on me and then expect me to be a-okay a few weeks later!”

The General stepped closer. Rangi instinctively backed away. 

“You’re the Lieutenant, aren’t you? You’ll live.”

“You make me fucking sick.” Rangi whispered. “Now get out before I make you.”

He laughed. A sort of vile laugh that made Rangi want to throw up.

She shut her eyes tightly and waited for him to leave. When he did, she took one shaky exhale and burst into tears.

“Rangi?”

It was Chiaro.

“What do you want?” she hissed, hastily wiping her tears away.

“You’re crying.” he pointed out awkwardly. 

“No  _ shit _ , Captain Obvious.” Rangi snapped.

“What happened? I saw the General walk out of your tent.”

Rangi was an excellent liar. Unlike other people.

“He just threatened to tell the Fire Lord that I wasn’t working hard enough. Nothing big.”

Or so she thought. 

“You’re lying to me.” he snapped.

“Fuck off.” Rangi said shakily, standing up. 

He sighed, clearly defeated. “I can’t seem to figure you out.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“You don’t want anyone to figure you out.”

“Piss off, before I snap your neck.” 

He frowned. 

“See you in the morning.” he muttered before walking out. Rangi watched him go. 

***

_ Another day _ , Rangi thought,  _ another fucking day. _

At this point, Rangi was tired of waking up. 

But she lived by her motto. “Even if you feel like you’re the worst, you have to act like you’re the best.”

“Morning, Sei’naka!” she didn’t quite have the heart to speak to the General. She flipped him off.

They were off to the Southern Water Tribe and then back to the Fire Nation after that for more advanced training. 

“Whoa. You look dead.” It was Chiaro.

“Did you not learn anything from last night?”

“You get irritable easily?”

She whacked him around the head with her bag.

“‘That I should stay out of Rangi's business’ would’ve been the right answer.”

“I’ll get you to open up.” he said challengingly.

“In your dreams.” And she left him to his thoughts. 

***

Kyoshi groggily got on one of the boats that was to take them to the South. She could not be asked to be awake at this hour. Rangi had said they’d be there in no time, but how long even was no time? Kyoshi didn’t tend to understand phrases like that.

The Southern Water Tribe appeared to be more aware and ready for the Fire Nation’s demands. They put forward about 60 people and Kyoshi could see the pain in the eyes of people they were leaving behind. But there was one person that she recognised a bit too much.

She walked over to him and whispered in his ear. 

_ “Kirima. You’re not smooth, you know. _ ” Kyoshi hissed under her breath, just loud enough for her to hear. 

“ I did what I had to do, Kyoshi. You left and I couldn’t sleep thinking of what might have happened to you .”

“Well, I’m fine, aren’t I?” 

“ So? I came because I care about you. Isn’t that enough? ”

“Rima, you’re putting yourself in danger.” 

_ " _ You fucking hypocrite. The Fire Nation'll have us both put to death if they find out the truth. We're in the same boat _." _

"Please, Kirima."

"Nope. I can't go back now. _Prissy_ _little miss Fire Nation_ already drafted me."

Kyoshi didn't quite know why, but she had become oddly defensive of Rangi these past few days. As much as she loved Kirima she couldn't help but feel angry at her. 

" _Rangi_ might understand." Kyoshi said, emphasising on the Lieutenant's name to correct her friend. 

"You know, I can tell when you're lying. She most likely won't. Also, have you got the hots for her or something? I've never seen you so defensive before-"

"Shut up." Kyoshi snapped, turning around to see Rangi standing right behind her.

"Wow. You actually have friends." Rangi laughed at her own joke. Kirima burst out laughing. 

"Damn, you just let yourself get dragged by a Fire Nation soldier. That has to be the most embarrassing thing ever." Kirima muttered. Kyoshi elbowed her sharply in the side. 

Kirima muttered some Sanskrit swearwords. 

Kyoshi was ready to lose her temper.

"Oh, whatever! Let's just get back to the boats. We'll be in the Fire Nation in the morning." she said, walking away from Kirima and Rangi. 

"Wait, the Fire Nation?"

Kirima started going on and on about some dumb shit Kyoshi couldn't be asked to listened to. She tuned her out, looking down at the blade her mother had given her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo!!! ive decided to update this fic every saturday so no worries. also: this series may get quite dark at some point and from here on out there will be trigger warnings if necessary. but enjoy! also pls remember to take care of yourself or ill do it for u xx


	3. didn't i tell you she's not my girlfriend?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rangi's finally back home. she's starting to adjust to life. whereas kyoshi on the other hand, couldn't be more out of her comfort zone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw // rape allegations and misogyny

Rangi could feel herself tearing up as the boats headed towards the docking bay. They had been away for almost a year drafting people. And just like that, they were back. Someone nudged her.

"You're really glad to be back here, huh?" It was Chiaro. She looked up, into his eyes for a split second. She could see a glint of jealousy reflected in his green eyes. And then she nodded.

"We've been gone for what feels like an eternity." He leaned against the side of the boat, and his hair came undone. It was shoulder length, but it was jarringly cut. She knew she should chastise him for doing that, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She fiddled with the medallion in her hands. 

The Japanese symbol for strength was engraved on the back.

_ She remembered how it came into her possession. And who gave it to her. _

_ "Rangi-chan, I want you to have this." It was her grandmother. _

_ "Baachan, what is it?" _

_ "The Sei'naka family medal." Her grandmother reached around and tied the medallion around her neck. "It symbolises strength. And something tells me that you're going to need that strength someday."  _

_ She'd bragged about it to all her friends who weren't as rich as her and didn't have last names. Of course, her mother told her off severely. _

She sometimes thought about Hei Ran's mother. She knew where her mother had gotten her unruly temper from. 

She took a deep breath. This wasn't the time to think about her family.

Because if she thought about her family, she'd think about her father. Her father, who she was as close to as close could be.

Her father, who she couldn't save.

"Rangi? You've been pretty...off in thought." Chiaro's green eyes narrowed.

"Hm?" She nodded and waved his irrelevant air of concern away. Soon enough they were kneeling in front of the Fire Lord.

"Lieutenant Sei'naka, how is the training going?" 

Her heart was pounding, but her thoughts were a million miles away.

"Extremely well, your majesty." Her hands were shaking.

The General was right behind her. She had the urge to strike him right there and announce what he'd done to her to everyone, but it wasn't worth it. In the Fire Nation, rape allegations against men were nearly always declared false. Especially if they were rich and high up. They'd always paid the girl’s family generously to keep quiet, or Agni forbid, they made her marry him. Rangi shuddered, thinking about having to marry the General.

He was going on about battle strategy and everyone had left. It was just the 3 of them. Naturally, Rangi wasn't participating in that conversation, as a woman. They hadn't let her.

"...air nomads…evade capture…" she had barely been listening to the conversation, but now she had started to pay attention.

"Fire Lord, are you sure you want to do this? And should we tell her?"

"We won't tell her." He dropped his voice and whispered something in the General's ear. "And yes, I'm sure."

She had been pretending to fiddle with her sword.

"Sei'naka. Let's leave the Fire Lord alone.'' She nodded, bowing to the Fire Lord one last time before leaving. The moment the door closed, she set off in the opposite direction to the General, trying to put distance between the two.

She had spent all night in her tent tossing and turning. Maybe the Fire Nation weren't the gleaming heroes they had always been described as.

***

Kyoshi stretched, her arm clicking. She shouted a particularly obscene word that made Kirima wake up.

The Waterbender scowled.

"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Shut up." There was a small smirk on her face, despite her strict tone. "That mouth of yours is gonna get you in trouble, Rima. You can't always say what you think."

"Um...okay? I don't care."

"You will when the Fire Nation's axe is about to reach your head."

"Did your little girlfriend Rangi tell you that?" Kyoshi blushed furiously before hitting Kirima with a pillow.

"Go fuck yourself." Kyoshi said, rolling out of bed. Her head was pounding. It all happened so fast…

She closed her eyes and thought about the dream she had last night.

" _ Kyoshi! Priya, the Fire Nation want all Air Nomads dead. Please don't turn me in. Please." Jesa was clinging to Kyoshi's arms, as if she was the only stable thing in the world she could hold on to. _

_ "Mama...it's me or you." Jesa's brown eyes filled up with tears. "And it's not going to be you." Kyoshi let go of Jesa. She turned and stood in front of Rangi. _

_ "Kyoshi. I don't want to have to kill you. I love you. Don't make me do this." _

_ "You have a choice, Rangi. Even if you don't think so," Rangi shook her head, as if Kyoshi was brainwashing her. _

_ "No. I don't." She drove the sword through Kyoshi's heart. And then through hers. A single drop of blood came out of her mouth. _

_ "I'll see you in the next life. It'll be better than this one." And she fell. _

_ And so did Kyoshi. _

_ The last thing she heard was Jesa's screaming. _

_ "My child!" she sobbed. "My only child _ !"

And then Kyoshi had woken up.

"What in the fuck?" She whispered out loud. What a bizarre dream.

"What? Has your Fire Nation girlfriend dumped you?"

She swatted at Kirima, who dodged.

"She's not my girlfriend.” Kyoshi repeated, starting to get ticked off. 

“Hm. Sure, Jan.” She swung at Kirima, and this time the Waterbender didn’t dodge. She hissed and swore. “Okay. But if I catch you making heart eyes at her the same way I saw you yesterday, I swear-” Kyoshi hit her again.

She swore. “Fine! Spirits above, that’s going to bruise.”

“Good thing you’re a Waterbender, hm?” Kyoshi laughed, getting up.

She threw a pillow at Kyoshi as the taller girl walked out of the tent, ducking as the sun’s harsh rays hit her. 

She bumped into someone. She scowled. She had no patience for anyone right now. “Watch where you’re going!” 

She’d felt pretty bad for shouting in the poor man’s face.

“Whoa! Chill. Sorry for bumping into you. How about I make it up to you? I’m Yun.”

Yun had a kind enough face. His eyes were like emeralds and he had light brown skin. He seemed to be amicable enough.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s fine. We all have our moments.” He grinned and Kyoshi felt heat flooding her face. 

“Chiaro.” Yun shook her hand, firmly, at that. He smiled again, until there was a loud coughing noise and Kirima came out of their tent. 

“Boo.” she whispered, coming up behind Kyoshi. She swatted at the Waterbender noncommittally. 

She dragged Kyoshi away from Yun, to her dismay. He seemed interesting. “Dude!”

“What? I was saving you from him.”

“Why?” Kyoshi wanted to laugh and shout all at the same time.

“Because he’s a guy and I don’t trust guys.” she said, matter-of-factly, as if it made perfect sense.

“Spirits, you’re so  _ stupid _ .” Kyoshi said, laughing. Whenever she laughed, Kirima was bound to laugh too. And she did. 

She was starting to grasp the edges of normalcy, even though they seemed to be further away with each passing moment. 

She supposed it would be weird, seeing two soldiers from the Reformed Fire Nation Army tripping over themselves laughing, but in reality, there was nowhere Kyoshi would rather be. 

***

Rangi raised her hand, stopping just in front of the door of her house. The Fire Lord and General had let her see her mother, seeing as she had no other family. She knocked on the door lightly and Hei Ran opened the door. She knew that Rangi would be coming to see her today, yet she looked thoroughly unprepared. 

Rangi made the first move, a single step forward. But before she could move any closer, Hei Ran flung her arms around Rangi’s neck, leaning down slightly. 

“I missed you so much,  _ Rangi-chan _ .” she whispered. Rangi buried her face in her mother’s uniform and the smell of clean linen brought tears to her eyes. She had only ever been this pleased to see her mother after the 4 years she had spent at the Royal Fire Nation School for Girls. Granted, that place was hell. 

The bullying, the teasing, the _ Agni Kai. _

She pulled her mother closer, burying her face in the woman’s robes tighter. She sobbed softly.

She was finally home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was sick last week and my parents didn't let me use any technology :/// how are y'all? stream positions if u haven't already sksksksks  
> also this chapter was oddly theraputic to write (especially the end)
> 
> don't forget to take care of urself or else


	4. aren't we friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rangi starts to realise that maybe chiaro isn't who he says he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi you lot! i cried when i wrote the end lmao  
> tw // death of a parental figure, rape, torture

Rangi was starting to feel a little better. Training had become easier because her mother had started to help her, and the General was around a lot less. But she couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. She threw back her fifth shot of whiskey. She decided that she didn't care about whatever she thought was wrong. She turned around, sliding off her seat, just to bump into someone.

It was Chiaro. Of course it was.

Chiaro had confused Rangi slightly. He was an interesting character, she thought. He was certainly like his sister. In looks and personality. His sister was admittedly one of the prettiest people Rangi had ever seen. Sometimes she thought about ever seeing her again and how they would feel about that.

"That's like, your fifth drink. I'm taking you back to your mother's." Rangi frowned.

"Just leave me alone. Do you think I can't handle myself or something?" She could see Chiaro flinch, as if he had been hit. She looked away to hide the guilt that was obviously written all over her face.

"I never said that. I just...wouldn't want anything to happen to you." Rangi's heart stopped. He actually cared. He frowned. "Come on, Rangi."

She sighed. "Fine." 

Walking the streets of the Fire Nation at night was oddly calming. It brought back a lot of memories, like running through the streets with her friends trailing after her, laughing through their stitches. 

When they'd reached the door, Chiaro had smiled at Rangi and she could swear that maybe…

No. That would be insane. Why would he lie about being a boy? To fight? Who would be so out of their damn mind to the point where they would do that?

"Goodnight." She'd whispered in the dark, thoughts about him swirling around in her mind.

Morning brought confusion and fatigue. She thought about it more. It was plausible, certainly. It would explain a lot of things. Namely things like the chest bindings and the fact that his voice sounded like a prepubescent 13 year old's. Rangi studied him a lot closer than she usually did. The way his lips moved as he spoke. The way he grinned whenever Rangi tried to reprimand him.

 _"That's not funny, asshole! You're putting yourself in danger!"_ He would just grin and ignore her.

Maybe he wasn't a boy.

***

Kyoshi had just dropped Rangi off at her mother's. She was very clearly wasted. She could tell from the feverishly bright look in her eyes. She'd hate for Rangi to get herself in trouble. 

She headed back to the encampments. She tripped over someone. He looked no older than 14. He had a particularly boyish grin on his face and his eyes were the same colour as Kyoshi's.

"Wow, you look young!" She said, since she had been caught off guard. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. I'm 14. That's kind of the whole point." Kyoshi felt like she had been struck. Weren’t people under 18 prohibited from joining the army? She couldn't really say much, seeing as she was a girl.

"14? Where are your folks?" He grinned bitterly.

"Dead. Sit down. I'll explain, if you like." Kyoshi sat on the log, shivering slightly although she was right in front of the fire.

"Some Fire Nation soldiers raped, killed and tortured my parents, brother and sister. So I plan to take 'em down from the inside out." Kyoshi felt bile rise up in her throat.

"And you? Why're you here?" The kid asked, turning on Kyoshi.

She hesitated. She needed to tell someone the truth.

"My father is ill. Dying, in fact. So I dressed up as a boy and volunteered in his place. Here I am."

"Sorry to hear that. At least we've both got our reasons to break the Fire Nation's dumb laws." Kyoshi frowned.

"What's your name?"

"Lek. Yours?"

"Kyoshi. But, uh, you can call me Chiaro. It's my alias, basically." Lek smiled sadly.

There was a man, next to Lek. He seemed around Kirima's age, about 20-ish.

"And you?" Kyoshi said, turning to face him.

"Hm? Oh, I'm Wong." He smiled. 

"Nice to meet you, Wong."

***

As Kyoshi tucked herself into her sleeping bag, she felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

***

Rangi looked much better in the morning. Hungover, but better. 

"Morning. Thank you, for what you did last night. Not many guys here would've done that," she muttered.

"I think you'll find I'm not like most guys here." Kirima came up behind Kyoshi and elbowed her hard, giving her a warning look. Lek and Wong hung back and Kyoshi could tell they were her friends now. Of sorts.

"Glad to hear that. See you later, trouble." Rangi walked off.

"Look, I may be a kid, but you definitely have a thing for the Lieutenant. You were totally undressing her with your eyes. D'you reckon she has abs?" Lek said, smirking. Kirima broke out into a huge smile. Kyoshi looked away to hide the blush on her face.

"That's enough!" Kyoshi reprimanded.

"I like you, kid," Kirima said. Lek grinned. 

"You may be a kid, but I won't hesitate to throttle you." Kyoshi glared and threatened. Lek moved away from her and she smiled.

Wong just laughed. It seemed like Kyoshi's old life was a million miles away. But she could deal with this. It was starting to become her new normal.

***

As the sky turned a pinkish-orange, the encampments were filled with men singing drinking songs and gambling. 

"No way am I letting you gamble, kid." Kirima said, reprimanding Lek. "That goes for you too, Kyoshi, no matter how much you want to impress your Fire Nation girlfriend-"

"If you don't shut it, we'll have a _lei tai_ right here and right now."

"You mean the reason why your hands are fucked?" She retorted.

Kyoshi started towards Kirima, her hands outstretched.

"My hands may be fucked, _but I'll still use them to strangle you!"_ Wong held her back.

"Now, now, Kyoshi. We all know you don't mean that." Wong said, trying to reason with her.

"Wanna find out?" Wong gulped.

"Like I was saying, Rangi is not my girlfriend. We're just friends." Kyoshi shrugged.

Kirima and Lek burst out laughing. "Good one, Kyoshi!"

Kyoshi frowned and went silent. She really didn't find the teasing funny.

-

Kyoshi was bored. It was late. She went down to the training range and started shooting arrows, each one hitting its target. Kirima, Wong and Lek were asleep. It was practically pitch black outside. She unsheathed the sword her mother had given her, waving it around carefully. She thought about wearing her mother's war paint for a few moments, but decided against it. She took the picture of her parents out of her pocket, hand shaking as she traced over her mother and father's faces.

She remembered when the picture had been taken.

_"Rima, priya, get in the frame!" Kyoshi's mother had shouted. Kirima had stood stiffly. It was the day that Kyoshi really started to see Kirima as a sister. Hark was strong enough to stand back then. He grinned and, after the photo had been taken, Kyoshi vividly remembered Jesa saying, "You two have the same crooked grin. It's adorable."_

_Hark had been bedridden a few weeks later._

_"Are you going to die, Dad?" Hark laughed and Kyoshi remembered the coughing fit he had, the blood spilling out of his mouth as though he had been stabbed, the blood falling onto the pale sheets like blooming red roses. How Jesa had screamed as she'd walked into the room. How she'd gotten blood all over her favourite sari and swore in Punjabi and cried in Hindi at the same time. How Kirima had fallen to her knees and cried when she'd found out._

_How Kyoshi had cried herself to sleep, thinking it was her fault that Hark had nearly died. Kyoshi stayed away from her dad after a few weeks for that. She had only been 13._

She let herself cry, putting the bow down softly. She fell to her knees, letting the sobs rise in volume, thinking no one would hear her. It was her fault, it was her fault, it was-

The door opened and Kyoshi immediately bit down on her lip to draw blood so she'd be quiet.

"Hello?" It was Rangi. She resumed sobbing. She couldn’t be bothered to lie anymore. Her father would hate to know that she had done this for him. 

What Rangi said next almost made her choke on her tears.

"Kyoshi?" 

"Yes?" Rangi fell to her knees next to Kyoshi.

"Why'd you lie?" she whispered. 

"I had to do it. For my parents, for my father! They would've forced us to put him forward and...it would've killed him." Rangi fell silent.

"I get it." Kyoshi shook from the cold and she looked over to see Rangi in her tank top and the trousers from her armour and nothing more. She visibly shook, too. 

"So, you won't say anything?"

"Of course not. Aren't we friends?" Rangi asked, smiling softly. Kyoshi shifted closer to her, just a little. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around Rangi. Rangi gasped. She hesitated at first, but then she wrapped her arms around Kyoshi's waist. She could hear sharp breaths and she realised-

Rangi was crying.

"Hey, Rangi? What-what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Her voice was muffled.

"Well, you're crying. Something must be wrong."

"My father...he died. I was a kid. One second he was laughing and screaming at a joke I made. But the screaming didn't stop. And then I heard the pan he had in his hands drop and my mother scream. Then I went into the room he was in to see blood coming out of his mouth. He was choking and my mother was crying in the corner. She was too scared to touch him. She screamed, "Rangi, get out of the room!" but before she could finish what she said, he dropped to the floor. He was dead. To this day we still don't know what happened. I was about 9. So, I understand wanting to protect your father." Rangi had gone paler than the moon.

"I...am so sorry." Kyoshi stuttered. Rangi smiled grimly and Kyoshi could tell she was resisting the urge to burst into tears.

So they sat there, in the pale moonlight, tears streaming down both of their cheeks, an unspoken silence between the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> might start uploading more because some cunt in my class caught the virus (sorry for the personal shit ik yall dont care)


	5. it's just a lei tai.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kyoshi ends up fighting rangi in a lei tai because lek couldn't keep his mouth shut. things only get worse from there.

Lek opened his eyes reluctantly at the sound of pots and pans being crashed together. He swore harshly under his breath. 

“What was that?” a soldier hissed at him. Lek flipped him off. Fire Nation bastards didn’t deserve his respect.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Lek snapped. The soldier lunged at him and Lek barely managed to claw the bastard off of him. He heard footsteps and suddenly Kyoshi was groggily standing in front of the two. Her eyes widened when she saw what was happening. 

She grabbed the soldier by the front of his fancy armor and shook him, causing the man to scream. 

The Lieutenant walked in. She glared at Kyoshi. “The hell are you doing?” she shouted. Kyoshi rubbed the back of her neck. She - Rangi, her name was - pulled Kyoshi out of the tent by the front of her tunic. Lek could hear the shouting from here. 

“No, I don’t care! You can’t just go around fighting whoever you want! That isn’t how it works.” The man walked outside, probably to go complain to Rangi. 

“You want a  _ lei tai _ ?” she asked. Lek could see the man nod. Lek walked outside. 

“Hey, man, slow your roll. Let’s not get carried away.” he said, trying to be reasonable. Kyoshi looked like she was going to be sick. 

“Fuck outta here, kid.” Lek scowled. 

“You launched yourself onto me and he stood up for me!” He turned to Rangi. “It was self-defense, promise.” She frowned, and she looked over at Kyoshi.

“I’ll fight her for you.” Rangi said reluctantly, looking at the man. Kyoshi ran off. Lek could hear retching sounds in the back. Lek walked over to Kyoshi. 

“You can’t seriously be that scared. It’s just a  _ lei tai, _ Kyoshi. I’ve been in several and-”

“My hands are like this because of a  _ lei tai! _ A lightning bender shot lightning at my fans and it rebounded and now...”

She undid her bandages. 

Her hands were scarred. The Lichtenberg scarring was all over her hands, snaking off like roots. Lek wanted to be sick. Somehow, it was like Kyoshi could tell. 

“Yeah. I have to see this every time I take off the bandages.”

***

_ Kyoshi was 15. She had accidentally offended some random firebender, and they had challenged her to a lei tai. She’d been in loads. It was no big deal. But they had gotten onto the platform and Kyoshi whipped her fans out. They used to be her mother’s. She had given them to her. She swore she had seen the man smirk before extending his arms and before she knew it, blinding light had shot out of his fingers and struck her. She nearly snapped her spine in two. She cried out and screamed. Surprisingly, the second, third and fourth bolts didn’t hurt. Her blood felt sticky. Her veins felt like they were on fire. She fell unconscious and when she had opened her eyes, she had heard birds chirping outside. She thought she was dead and she was in heaven. Until she looked to the side to see Jesa, praying in Hindi, tears running down her cheeks.  _

_ “Kyoshi! I thought…” _

_ “I’m not going anywhere, mama. It’ll take a lot more than a few bolts of lightning to stop me.” Kyoshi grinned. Jesa kissed her on the forehead.  _

_ “I’m never letting you fight in another one of those. Ever.” _

_ Kyoshi had extended her hands to reach out for Jesa. _

_ Then her gaze landed on them. _

_ And Jesa faltered.  _

_ Kyoshi exhaled heavily. And then she started crying. “My hands! Mama, what happened to my hands?” _

_ Jesa wrapped her arms around Kyoshi, shushing her softly.  _

_ “I’m sorry, mere kar di pyaar. I truly am. There’s nothing Kirima could do to heal them more than that.” _

_ Kyoshi had clung to her mother, her smell of fire lilies and vanilla fogging up her thoughts. Good. She didn’t want to think about what had happened anyways.  _

_ *** _

Kyoshi could’ve cried when she got onto the platform. Rangi frowned too. Kyoshi could tell that she didn't want to do this, didn't want to hurt her. What had happened the night before had brought the two of them a lot closer. She stripped off her armor. First, her breastplate. Then her under fastenings. She peeled off layers until she was left in her tank top. 

_ Thank the spirits that’s over. _

Then she removed her tank top, pulling it over her head and mussing her hair slightly after dropping it on the floor. Rangi only wore a black bra and her trousers from her armour. Kyoshi’s eyes immediately started travelling downwards. 

“My eyes are up here.” she said, getting into a starting stance. Kyoshi gulped. She mirrored her move. Rangi smirked. 

“You’re a quick learner.” Kyoshi would’ve gone a deep red. 

“ _ Kyoshi?” _ it was Lek. 

“ _ What?” _ she hissed.

“ _ Where do you want to buried? Because it looks like she’s about to kill you. _ ” Kyoshi scowled. 

“ _ You got me into this mess, so if you want, get up on the fucking platform and fight her yourself! _ ” 

Lek’s smile fell. 

“ _ Never mind! _ ”

Kyoshi took a deep breath and counted to 3. They had agreed on no bending for reasons that Kyoshi refused to tell Rangi about. She threw a punch at Rangi, who easily dodged and grabbed her arm, twisting it. Kyoshi bit down on her bottom lip, trying not to scream out in pain. Rangi pretended to lose her footing so that she could let go of Kyoshi, a look of apology clearly reflected in her eyes.

Kyoshi could feel her eyes water. Nonetheless, she sucked it up and threw another punch, this one hitting Rangi square in the nose. Kyoshi drew her hand back to see blood on her bandages. Blood was dripping down Rangi’s face. She looked horrified. She scowled and tripped Kyoshi up. Kyoshi could swear that she could see stars when she hit the floor. Rangi’s foot almost hit her. She rolled over on her side and got up, clutching her ribs. She felt like she had been winded. There was blood dripping out of her mouth and she was sure she was going to pass out. 

Rangi, on the other hand, was fine apart from the broken nose. She smirked again. Kyoshi decided to go on the defensive instead of the offensive. Rangi threw punches at Kyoshi and she hit the punches away, their arms clashing. 

They were both panting heavily and Rangi took the opportunity to back Kyoshi up against a wall, slamming her into it hard. 

“Rangi…” Kyoshi choked on her own blood and spit. 

“Yield, Kyoshi. I don’t want to have to hurt you more than I already have. I’m sorry about this.”

“It’s okay.” It wasn’t. She readied her voice slightly. “I yield!” 

Suddenly the doors opened. It was the General. Rangi immediately went pale and scrambled to get her shirts on. 

Kyoshi had noticed that Rangi seemed to be scared of him. 

“Aw, don’t get all dressed up for me, Lieutenant Sei’naka. You look perfectly fine like that.” Rangi turned around, anger flashing in her eyes. 

“Hey! How dare you?” Kyoshi snapped, getting off the platform and walking towards the General. Kyoshi had been catcalled a fair amount of times, and she was never any less disgusted by it. 

“I’m sorry, do you know who you’re talking to?”

“I’m sorry, who said I gave a fuck? I don’t remember saying so.” 

The General swung at her and she caught the punch, the way Rangi did to her. She twisted his arm around and he cried out, his eyes widening. 

“Stop!” Rangi shouted. Kyoshi let go of him. Rangi almost seemed...scared?

Kyoshi scowled and ignored her, grabbing the General by the undershirt. She threw him across the room, but something went wrong. It was like a gust of wind had hit him and he slammed into the wall with a sickening crunching noise. Almost like Kyoshi had airbended. But that was out of the question. Before she could turn to face the crowd, Rangi grabbed her by the shirt. 

Again. 

She pulled her outside.

“What the fuck did you do to him back in there? I swear on Avatar Wan, Kyoshi…” She slammed Kyoshi against a wall and her hands and Kyoshi’s clothes started to smoke. Rangi was so mad that she had started to set Kyoshi’s clothes on fire. 

“Why do you care so much? He made a creepy comment and I put him in his place.” she shrugged. Rangi sighed and let go of her clothes, probably only just realising she’d almost burned them.

Kirima came outside, flanked by Lek and Wong. 

“Before anyone else says anything, I just wanna tell Kyoshi that was rad.” Rangi glared at Lek.

Kyoshi smiled. “Don’t smile. This isn’t something you should joke about!”

“Chill, Topknot. Kyoshi, you do realise that your birthday is literally the day Kuruk died, right? And what happened in there looked like airbending.”

Kyoshi shook her head. “You guys are crazy. I’m not the Avatar, if that’s what you’re implying, Rima.”

Kirima frowned. Kyoshi had known her since she had come out of the womb and she'd never seen her frown like that. 

“That’s exactly what I’m implying. It’s plausible.” she shook her head, sliding down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. 

Her hands started to pull at her hair, and her breathing started to accelerate. 

She could hear Rangi’s voice, but it couldn’t sound more far off. 

“Kyoshi? Wh- What’s happening to her?” Her voice sounded frantic. She started to rock back and forth. It felt like she couldn’t breathe. Like something had closed around her throat.

Kirima knelt down and put her arms around Kyoshi. 

“Kyoshi, it's going to be okay. I promise, nothing’s going to happen to you. I swear on the spirits.” Slowly, Kyoshi’s vision started to come back into focus, and she could hear everything again. Her heart rate slowed down, and Kirima grinned. 

“Honestly, what would you do without me?” 

Kyoshi stood up slowly. She rolled her eyes. 

“What the hell just happened to you?”

“Panic attack. I get ‘em sometimes. They make me zone out and I start to hyperventilate. I was about to have one, but luckily Kirima’s able to recognise the signs.”

“Since when did the Lieutenant know?” Lek asked, probably referring to the fact that she had used Kyoshi’s actual name.

“Since 2 days ago. It’s a long story.”

Kirima cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Kyoshi shook her head. 

“It doesn’t matter.”

Kyoshi walked around the corner, as if she were trying to get away from what Kirima and Rangi were implying. She saw a blur of red and yellow, and suddenly she caught someone in her arms. An Air Nomad. There were tears running down his cheeks and his nose appeared to be broken. He was breathing heavily and shaking. 

“You- You have to help me!” he frantically exclaimed. 

“What? What is it?”

“The Fire Nation. They want all Air Nomads dead. That’s why they’ve gathered that massive army that you all seem to be a part of.” Rangi had clearly heard what he said, because her eyes flashed with anger. 

She looked like she was going to punch him. Kirima looked skeptical. Wong frowned. Lek scowled. Something gave Kyoshi an inkling that he knew something like this would happen. 

“So...they’re planning…” Kyoshi couldn’t finish her sentence. All she could think of was her mother. Her kind, caring mother, who would give up her life for Kyoshi’s in a heartbeat. Jesa, who Kyoshi would rather die than lose. 

“An Air Nomad genocide.” He finished.


	6. but are you sure?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rangi couldn't be more mad. she just couldn't. kyoshi's trying to calm her down whilst trying to tell lek that there will be no mass murder of the fire nation soldiers. safe to say she's got her hands full.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> personal headcanons here but i feel like rangi has autism. she's terrible at handling change and she has plenty of characteristics of it in canon. i also feel like kyoshi has adhd (catch me projecting dsjdsksakjfdld) all i can say is she needs an adderall prescription  
> also go rangi for lightning bending!! (this is one of two times she does that in this fic)

Rangi looked like she was about to kill the Airbender. Fitting, seeing as what he had just told them. She grabbed him by the front of his robes, which were torn and dirty, and backed him against a wall. 

"If you're lying, I will kill you." she whispered. "Where's your proof?"

Kyoshi mussed her hair slightly, trying to think. C'mon, Kyoshi, don't do this. Think. "Rangi, did you know anything about this?"

"No." 

Kyoshi sighed and went to rephrase. "Did the Fire Lord mention Air Nomads at all in his plans?"

"Only thing I remember him saying as that it might be hard to capture Air Nomads, seeing as they can evade capture. But I thought that was in general, because in the Fire Nation, they teach us defense methods against each of the other nations."

Kyoshi's heart dropped. 

"It's only occurring to me that that's probably not the case." she finished. 

"No shit." Lek muttered. "God, this is just the kind of bullshit the Fire Nation would pull. I knew there was something off about this." he hesitated for a moment. "Oi, you." he said, trying to catch the Air Nomad's attention. He looked up and faced Lek. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jinpa." 

"Jinpa, this is Lek. That's Rangi, Kirima and Wong." They each gave a wave except for Rangi, who simply glared. "You can call me Kyoshi."

Kyoshi fiddled with her hands. She found it hard to stand still and do nothing. Kirima had called it attention-deficit and Kyoshi had thought it made sense. She pulled a knife out of her pocket and Jinpa's eyes widened. 

"Don't worry. I'm just fiddling with it." she said, assuring him. Kyoshi took the time to study Jinpa a little closer. He looked as if he were around 19/20ish. He was bald, like most Air Nomads, and he had the blue arrow on his forehead. 

Kyoshi couldn't help but think of her mother. 

_"Mama, why don't me and Kirima have arrows on our heads?" Kyoshi had been about 6 when she'd asked. This was before she had understood the order of the 4 nations. Jesa had gone on an extensive story time, and by the time she was finished, it was dark out. It had been one of the many moments Kyoshi's family had captured in their family tapes. Things like Kyoshi's first steps, Hark and Jesa's wedding, her first words. The first guy she brought home._

_Kirima had chased him off in an hour, but that was besides the point._

_She would kill to just sit down with her family one last time and watch every last tape._

"I'm going to go see the General, see if I can get some answers." Kyoshi nodded. She was a bit scared for Rangi, though. 

"As for you," Kyoshi said, rounding on Jinpa, "We need to get you a disguise."

***

Rangi shivered as she knocked on the General's door. He grinned as he opened the door. It was like what Kyoshi had done to him had had no effect at all, whatsoever. 

"I'm here to ask you a question." 

"Anything for you, Rangi." she scowled. 

"Don't call me that. It's Lieutenant, or Sei'naka." she wasn't able to stand up to him then, but she could certainly try now. 

"Whatever. Now, what is it you need?"

"We're fighting the Air Nomads, aren't we?"

The General scowled. 

"Who told you?"

Rangi was tempted to lie and say the Fire Lord did, but the Fire Lord was a misogynistic prick. There was no chance of that happening, and they both knew it. 

Instead, Rangi made a run for it, running through the extensive hallways of the Royal Palace while the General ran after her. There were two guards in front of her, and she knew the General would command them to-

"Guards! After her!" she heard the General shout. 

_Well, maybe I'm psychic_ , Rangi thought. A soldier wrapped his arms around her from behind, causing them both to trip and fall. Rangi headbutted him, making him shout and lose his grip, only for her to bump into another 8 or 9 soldiers. She shot fire at one half and pushed her way through the other. 

_Nearly there nearly there nearly-_

"Where are you going? Not so fast!" And he swung at her, causing her eyes to water as she fell to the ground. The General pulled out his sword and pulled her up by her under shirt, holding the knife to her throat. 

"You little whore," he spat. Rangi actually spat in his face and he pressed the blade into her skin, causing blood to stain Rangi's under shirt an even brighter shade of red. Her vision was starting to black out at the edges, but she could hear something crackling. Almost like...lightning?

Whatever it was, she shot it at the General, the blinding light causing him to fall the the ground. 

She could...lightning bend? She looked at her hands, which appeared to be fine. She ran for the door, slamming it shut behind her. 

By the time she reached Kyoshi and the others, there was more blood coming from where the General had cut her neck. Kyoshi looked shocked. 

"Rangi! What the hell happened to you? Are you hurt?" she laughed bitterly.

"You should see the other guys." she smirked. "But some medical assistance wouldn't hurt right now."

***

Things had slightly settled down. 

"So, what did the General say?"

"Well, he basically confirmed it. So, Jinpa was right." It pained her to say it. Kyoshi was still fiddling with her knife. 

"So, what now?" Kirima asked. "Because I'm not staying in the army if that's the case."

"We have three options. One; we stay undercover and spread the rumor about who we're really fighting. Two: We go on the run and get the Air Nomads to safety. Three: we kill the all the Fire Nation leaders."

"I vote three!" Lek shot. Rangi inhaled. 

"I say two is the most logical." she said. Kirima nodded.

"I'm with Rangi on this one."

Wong nodded too. "I'm with the Lieutenant and Kirima." Lek looked like a kid who hadn't gotten anything for Christmas.

"You guys are no damn fun," he muttered. Kirima nudged him. 

"If we're gonna leave, there's something I need to handle first." she walked away from the group. 

***

She knocked on her mother's door after finding her house. The door opened. 

"Mama, I..." she burst into tears and wrapped her arms around her mother. 

She explained it all from the beginning. The _lei tai_ , Jinpa, all of it. 

"So you're leaving?"

"Yes, but you need to get out of here too. The Fire Lord and the General will definitely go after you and I don't want you to die."

"Where do I go?"

"The Earth Kingdom would be preferable. Yokoya, perhaps? You know people there." She nodded. 

Before Rangi walked through to her room, Hei Ran took both of her hands. "Stay safe, Rangi-chan." she nodded.

Rangi undid her hair and carefully tied it back up, but only with her hairpin. She took her breastplate off and then her undershirts. She was left in her tank top and her dress trousers. She put her jacket on over it. It went down to her knees, so it was essentially perfect. She tucked some knives into spare pockets and took her sword with her. She looked at herself in the mirror. She barely recognised herself. 

The house was empty by the time she left, so she assumed that Hei Ran had left. She shut the door behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imagine rangi's jacket to look like mai's


	7. maybe i had you pegged wrong.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kyoshi doesn't know what to do to cheer rangi up, so, when they stop in a nearby town, kyoshi asks her about her past.   
> that only makes it worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> overused joke of mine, but if bread in french is pain rangi sei'naka must own a bakery  
> tw // bullying, bulimia, self harm, thoughts of suicide

Kyoshi was starting to feel drowsy. It was nearly 3AM, and they had been walking all night. Well, Lek was on her back. His drool was dripping down her neck and she was utterly tempted to throw him off of her or give him to someone else.

"Right, uh, Jinpa, was it?" Rangi started. Jinpa nodded. "Why the fuck did you leave your air bison behind?" she hissed. Kyoshi shot her a glance.

"I didn't want him to come to harm. Airbending masters and their bisons are connected, and if anything happened to Yingyong, I wouldn't be able to handle it." Rangi snorted, but said nothing more. Kirima whined. 

"Can't we just sit down or rest? It's fucking 3AM, for Yangchen's sake!" Rangi turned to Kirima. 

"We're almost at the Phoenix gate borders, Kirima. We can stop for 15 or so minutes, but then we have to keep going." They were in a quaint town, but Kyoshi could see an inn up ahead. Kyoshi tapped Rangi on the shoulder and beckoned for her to come aside. 

"Maybe we should stay here for tonight? I promise the moment light breaks we can keep going." A mix of emotions crossed Rangi's face and Kyoshi could tell she was considering their options. Then, she nodded. 

"Alright. I mean, Lek's already passed out anyways and Kirima would probably hate me forever if I didn't let her get her beauty sleep." Kyoshi smiled. That was just the kind of thing Kirima would say. They were more similar than they gave each other credit for, she thought to herself. 

"And you? Where are you going to stay?" Rangi shrugged. 

"I'll give you the money for the inn, but I'll stay awake. I need to plan our next route and what we're going to do next." Kyoshi frowned. 

"If you stay awake, I'll stay awake with you. That sound okay?" She mock frowned. 

"If you wish. But I'm not babysitting you." she grinned. 

"Whatever you say." They gave Kirima the money, and Rangi severely chastised Kirima because she joked about spending the money on gambling. 

Wong was carrying Lek at this point, the 14 year old slung over his broad shoulder. 

Then, they were walking around the town. Kyoshi suspected it was more beautiful in daylight, but there was a certain glow to a place that had been shrouded in darkness and illuminated by moonlight. Rangi was holding up a flame, and Kyoshi's heart nearly stopped. She had a sort of frown on her face and Kyoshi wanted to do something to make her smile. 

"Tell me about your past. I mean, you must've had an interesting one, right?" Rangi immediately went tense. It was like something had choked her. 

***

Kyoshi probably didn't intend to stumble upon such a sensitive subject, but _are you fucking serious?_ Rangi's past was more messy than Kyoshi's hair in the mornings and that was saying something. 

Rangi sighed. "Spirits, where do I even start?"

"Wherever you want to."

"You already know about my father. Following that incident, my mother sent me to the Royal Fire Nation school for Girls. The 5 years I spent there were probably the worst years of my life." Kyoshi said nothing. "For the first 2 or so months, things were okay. I had friends. No one necessarily had an issue with me. But I let it slip that my mother used to be the Headmistress, and things got worse from there. They called my mother an assassin because of the fact that she...killed her cousin for the place of Headmistress. Not that bad, right? Just some minor name calling. Then, it turned into harassment. The girls would make up these horrid rhymes about me and my mother, and they would say my father died because my mother poisoned him. They would call me slurs and make fun of everything I did. Once, they were shouting in my face and I had a full on sensory meltdown. I curled up in a ball and screamed for them to stop. I begged. But they kept going. I passed out due to the over exertion. Then, when I was allowed to leave the infirmary, I went into class to see they had vandalised my desk with things I wouldn't dare repeat. Engraved certain slurs in my desk. I almost killed myself after that. I ran straight of class with a razor blade in my hands. I think you can tell where that went."

Kyoshi looked as if she was going to be sick. 

"You don't have to keep going if-"

"No, it's fine." Rangi's throat felt dry. "But one of the things that was written on my desk stuck. A girl had said I was fat, and I...took it to heart. Whenever I ate, I threw it back up. That's why you can see my ribs so easily. Because despite gaining that weight back, sometimes I just don't eat." 

"Then there was the _agni kai._ I had turned 15 and I was thoroughly fed up of the bullying. Some girl in the corridor shouted, "What's it like having an assassin for a mother?" and I snapped. I challenged her to an _agni kai_. At first she didn't take it seriously, but I was serious. And then, when I got up there, it was like something in my brain clicked. As soon as it was free game, I shot her with lightning. She stared into my eyes for a second and fell to the ground. I had killed her. I threw up as soon as they felt for a pulse and I realised there was no pulse left to feel for. I still think about that girl sometimes."

"I...probably shouldn't have asked you about your past, should I?"

She shrugged. "I've healed. Of course, it's not something I discuss at parties. Am I allowed to ask you about your past?"

Kyoshi nodded. 

***

Kyoshi felt downright horrid. Rangi's past was tragic. 

"Well, uh. I was bullied too, but it was nowhere near as bad as yours. It was just a few people pushing me around."

Rangi squinted. "Something tells me it's a lot worse than you let on. Let me guess, you entertain neutral _jing_ a lot and barely ever do anything about anything at all?"

Kyoshi huffed. "Maybe it was also calling me a few slurs. What about it?"

Rangi frowned. 

"Okay, okay. What really happened was, I was bullied for my height. The village kids would push me around and call me slurs. I never did anything because they were half my size. Anything like that would have been flat out wrong. So, I let them gradually break down my self confidence; But that's about it, really. And then my father fell ill, and I was out of the house a lot. So I was bullied a lot more. So I would leave the house to escape the idea of my father dying, only to run into people who would call me the r slur. Very pleasant years, those were."

"That's extremely fucked up, Kyoshi." Rangi muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, well. They bullied me, boo hoo. What does it matter if 2 years later I still want to die? That's my fault, not theirs. That was what they were trying to achieve, right?" Kyoshi laughed and Rangi frowned deeper, her worry lines starting to show. 

"Your humor is extremely concerning, Kyoshi."

"You just don't get it. A good 90% of your humor is dry sarcasm and insults." Rangi smiled bitterly. 

"Take a guess where that comes from," Kyoshi swallowed.

"I'm sorry. Rangi."

"It's fine, idiot. You did catch me off guard with that question, though."

"Spirits, I'm so stupid. Why didn't I stop to think-"

"The bullying was actually severe, wasn't it? You put yourself down all the time and it seems like reflex. One thing could go wrong and you'd be jumping down your own throat for the rest of the day. It's almost like there's a voice in the back of your head, making you say those things."

Kyoshi opened her mouth to say something, but Rangi just smirked. 

"I'm right!" she said in a singsong voice.

"Yes. You are. And I hate it. It's like you can nitpick everything going on in one's mind and I absolutely despise it," Kyoshi started. "But it's impressive."

She bowed mockingly. They had stumbled upon a nearby park with a fountain and they had decided to stay there for a while, focusing on the rushing water instead of their pasts. 

"Rangi?" she looked up. "What if I am the Avatar? The hell am I supposed to do then?"

"I don't know. I think I could teach you Firebending, Kirima could teach you Waterbending. and Jinpa..." she scowled. "If you want to keep him around, I suppose he could teach you Airbending."

Kyoshi smiled. "Lighten up, Rangi. I mean, look around. We've come a long way, haven't we? Both of us."

"I suppose. But we're fugitives and will probably be killed for treason or tortured for information on the Air Nomads if we're found-"

"Shut up. I'm trying to be positive." she grinned. Rangi smiled back. 

Kyoshi tipped Rangi's head up, her fingers on Rangi's chin. "You look so pretty when you smile." Kyoshi muttered. 

"You look pretty in general. Is there a reason you're complimenting me?"

"I..." Kyoshi didn't finish her statement. Instead she softly touched her lips to Rangi's. 

"What does one say after they kiss someone?" Rangi muttered. 

Kyoshi shrugged. "Kiss me again?"

"If you want." Rangi leaned in and kissed Kyoshi, leaning over to rest her hands on Kyoshi's waist. Kyoshi could've stayed there forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i decided to project onto rangi y'all i am sorry-


	8. the western air temple.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kyoshi and the rest of her friends have warned the air nomads from the southern air temple, northern air temple and the eastern air temple, but they have yet to warn the women from the western air temple. let's just say the fire nation got there first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw death, murder

Kyoshi frowned. "Okay, so Rangi, Kirima and I will go evacuate the Western Air Temple whilst you guys," she said, gesturing at Lek, Jinpa and Wong, "will be our guard."

Lek whined. "I still don't see why we can't kill some Fire Nation soldi-"

"Lek, we've talked about this. No killing." Kyoshi said, her expression firm. Lek huffed. 

The Western Air Temple was where Kyoshi's mother grew up. It was different from the other Temples, because of the infrastructure. She'd visited her grandmother a few times, and so she knew her way around the temple pretty well. 

Rangi was observing the temple, most likely looking for ways out if the Fire Nation got involved in their plan. Kyoshi came up behind her, putting her hands on Rangi's shoulders. "Boo." 

She didn't jump. Instead she said, "Kyoshi, you really need to learn how to walk quieter." she turned to face Kyoshi and smiled at her. Kyoshi mock scowled. 

"Miss Sei'naka, you really need to learn how to smile more." Kyoshi shot back, earning her a punch on the arm. 

"I'm smart, strong, and I'm pretty enough when I don't smile. Smiling just exhausts me."

"Ah, yes, but somehow doing 20 sit ups every morning doesn't?" Kyoshi questioned. Rangi glared. 

"Not when you're from the Fire Nation. I've been doing that since I was 7." Kyoshi's eyes widened and Rangi turned back around to observe the temple. "Now, fuck off. I'm trying to plan us escape routes."

Kyoshi's lips curled up into a crooked grin. "My mother grew up here. I've been coming here since I was a child. I used to get myself into loads of trouble, so I think I know a few escape routes." Rangi looked impressed. Well, not impressed. More surprised, than anything else. 

"That sounds like just the kind of thing you would do. Alright, then. I've got a couple exits chartered, on that piece of paper over there." Kyoshi narrowed her eyes to stare at the piece of paper with a very detailed drawing of the temple on it, with lines pointing at certain parts at the building with messy Japanese words scrawled by the lines. 

"Rangi?"

"Hm?" She turned to face Kyoshi. 

"What the hell are we supposed to do if the Fire Nation shows up?" Rangi surprised Kyoshi by taking her hand. 

"That isn't going to happen."

"We've been gone for months, and-"

"Shut up. I'm trying to be encouraging, or whatever." Kyoshi grinned. 

Rangi pulled Kyoshi down to her level by grabbing the front of her tunic and pulled her into a kiss. "For good luck."

"I think we'll both need that luck, Rangi, but thanks." She smiled and there was a gasp.

_"I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU TWO WERE TOGETHER! LEK, YOU OWE ME 20 YUAN!"_ Kyoshi straightened immediately to see Kirima, and a very pissed off Lek standing there, staring at she and Rangi. 

"Oh, fuck off, Kirima." Kyoshi muttered, hiding her head in her hands. Rangi had gone an impressive shade of red and turned to face Kirima.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate you, Kirima?"

"Love you too, Topknot." she said, throwing an arm around Rangi's lean shoulders. She shirked herself away from Kirima's embrace. 

" _Anyways_ , we're ready now. Someone go get Wong. Preferably you, Kirima." Rangi said, drawing herself up to her actual height of 5'3, since she had been slouching before. Kirima flounced and returned with Wong, whose long hair was tied into a messy bun, and some of his hair was falling into his eyes. He looked tired.

Jinpa ran around the bend, panting hard. "We have a problem."

Rangi scowled. "What now, Jinpa?"

"The Fire Nation got to the Western Air Temple before we did."

Rangi paled. "Well, looks like you three are coming with us."

"Nice! I get to kill Fire Nation soldiers." Lek said, bouncing on the soles of his feet. Rangi gave him a withering glance. 

"Ah. So, Topknot, d'you have a backup plan by any chance?" Kirima asked. 

"Of course I do!" Rangi exclaimed.

They all waited for her to say something. 

"We go on the offensive. Kill, maim, whatever you have to do." Lek was grinning. "Don't stop until you find Air Nomads and get them to safety."

"What if they've been captured and the Fire Nation's waiting for us?" Kyoshi asked, her hair falling into her eyes. Rangi shook her head. 

"In the event that happens, the Fire Nation are looking to capture us and they're using the Air Nomads as bait." She responded. "But the Fire Nation don't like to play the waiting game. We'll see when we get there."

Kyoshi nodded. 

Rangi pulled her aside for a moment. "Look, Kyoshi. I don't know if you're the Avatar. You might not be, for all I know. But if you are, it would really be helpful if you told us, or if you used some of that Avatar State business to help us out here."

Kyoshi sighed. "I don't know if I am. Is there even a way to test me, or whatever?" Rangi pulled something out of her pocket. 

"We use this to test newborn babies in the Fire Nation to try and identify them as Firebenders when they're young to prevent them from burning down houses or something of the sort." She put it under Kyoshi's nose. 

"Now, if you're a Firebender, it should light up when you breathe out." Kyoshi breathed out. Nothing. 

"Try steadying your breathing more."

She did, and eventually she heard Rangi whisper, "Holy fuck."

The cotton ball was alight. Kyoshi had set it on fire. 

"Are we sure that wasn't you?" Kyoshi asked, her heart starting to quicken. Rangi shook her head. Suddenly there was a shout. 

Kyoshi and Rangi both turned around to see the Western Air Temple on fire. It was like it was raining ash, and there was a dark plume of smoke coming from the temple. When they reached the group, Jinpa was crying, and Wong was trying to steady him. 

"Look what your little frolic has cost us! If those Air Nomads die, it's on you!"

Kyoshi looked Kirima in the eyes. "Kirima. We weren't off doing anything like that. I'm the Avatar."

Kirima stared at her. "Well, it would really help if you went into the Avatar State right now!"

"I haven't opened any of my chakras, genius. I can't control the Avatar State."

"Can we argue about this later? The Air Nomads could be dying in there!" Lek said, cutting between the two. 

Kyoshi swallowed, and they all started running towards the temple. By the time they had reached, there were wounded nuns. Everywhere. A woman was crying with a baby in her hands, and upon further inspection, she could see the baby had lost an arm. Kyoshi fought the urge to throw up everything she'd ever eaten.

To her right, she could see that Rangi was off fighting Fire Nation soldiers, shooting fireballs at them and throwing fire punches. Kirima was also attacking them, to Kyoshi's left. Kyoshi tried to steady her breathing. She wanted to do something. Anything. 

Then, she saw an Air Nomad that was dragging herself across the floor. A Fire Nation soldier grabbed her by the hair and slit her throat. Kyoshi's entire body shook, and the back of her eyes went white, and suddenly, it was like her entire body was on autopilot. She couldn't see much, but she could feel her fists slamming into people's faces. She could also feel the ground shaking, and she knew she was attacking Fire Nation soldiers with earth as well.

She could hear echoing voices, one that sounded like Yangchen's and another sounded like Kuruk's, but she could also hear one that sounded like Rangi's. 

"Kyoshi, you can get out of the Avatar State now!" Kyoshi blinked, and her eyesight went back to normal, and she could see Rangi standing there with a few bruises on her face, and a split lip. Apart from that, she looked perfectly fine. 

Well, she looked shocked out of her mind. 

Kirima stared at Kyoshi as well. She had a limp body in her hands. It was Lek. Kyoshi's heart almost stopped. "Is he...?"

Kirima shook her head. "I would never let him die, He's just a kid."

"Holy shit, Kyoshi! We did it!" Kyoshi looked around. They had failed every last Air Nomad that was laying there dead. 

"Well, we almost did." Kyoshi muttered sullenly. 

Rangi swallowed, and Kyoshi could tell that the adrenaline of the fight had worn off. Jinpa was tending to Wong's injuries. They weren't severe, but they still needed medical attention. 

Kyoshi had absolutely no idea what had just happened. She was lightheaded and could barely remember anything that had just happened. Last thing she heard was Rangi saying, "Kyoshi? Are you alright?" before the ground rushed up to meet her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pffft this took me forever to update because of the ratio of hits to kudos on this fic. i just. lost all motivation when i saw it ngl


End file.
